


Rupert gets a Birb

by ElizeLin



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Birds, Fluff, Gen, How the Fuck Do I Tag, LITERALLY, Rupert gets a Birb, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, everyone is safe and happy, it's not OOC if David didn't give them character to begin with, lots and lots of birds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 14:32:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17727005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizeLin/pseuds/ElizeLin
Summary: In which it takes place post pacifist markus where Kara, Alice and Luther all abscond to Canada with Rose.





	Rupert gets a Birb

**Author's Note:**

> Rupert needs more love and affection and content in general

After fleeing to Canada, Rupert had nowhere left to go. He'd found himself wandering the streets, unsure where to go next anymore. He'd managed to get through the temperature checks with help from the birds that he had raised for so long, radiating warmth through his jacket. Before long however, most of them flew off. They were birds after all, and it would be selfish of Rupert to force them to stay. He couldn't help but to feel lonely despite this, perhaps lost even without the company of his avian partners. He'd been attached to them for so long, and he'd had to leave them behind in Detroit to flee to Canada. The android revolution was doing relatively well at least, Markus and the other androids being able to begin to discuss with the President about equal rights for androids now, so on and so forth.

 

So lost in his thoughts however, he didn't notice when he walked straight into another person. His fight or flight code kicked in immediately, panicking as he scrambled to get up and possibly away without rousing suspicion of the human he had just bumped into. 

“I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going--" Rupert had began to blurt before the other party interrupted them mid sentence. 

“Wait… Aren't you the WB200 android with the birds from Jericho? Rupert, was it?” They had asked, and Rupert immediately brought their gaze up to meet the other's. His eyes were wide in shock and mild terror, but he calmed down significantly when he saw a familiar face. Or well, familiar faces. 

“You're… Kara. And... Luther and Alice!” He finally said, recognition dawning on his face. It was more of the mountain of a man that Luther was that made the mismatched family so easily recognizable to him, but it didn't matter since he still remembered their names. 

“We are..!” She said, seemingly glad that Rupert remembered them. “I'm so glad to see that another android managed to make it across the border as well.” She says, pulling him into a tight hug. “What happened to all the birds?” She asked, but the guilty look in Rupert’s face as he had to glance away was all it took for her to realize. “Oh… I see. Well, have you found a place to stay yet?” She asked curiously, finally stepping back to hold Alice's hand again. 

“Um, well about that… Actually…” He stammered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I actually… Never got around to it.” He admits at last.

“He can stay with us then, can't he Kara?” Alice asked suddenly, having had been hiding behind Kara until she remembered the man with all the birds in the medical bay.

“Rose is already housing a lot of other androids…” Luther had begun, although he sounded resigned. He knew that neither he nor Kara could truly deny Alice for long. With how hopeful Rupert looked, it would be plain cruel to deny him as well. 

Kara seemed conflicted, lips pressed in a thin line as she thought. “I'll… Have to speak to Rose.” She says, an apologetic look in her eyes. She didn't want to have to leave Rupert to wander the streets, not knowing where to go next either, however. She'd been there, with Alice and Luther and it didn't feel good. “Perhaps… You could come over instead? Just for the time being. You could ask Rose yourself too if she's home.” She offers. 

“I-Is that really okay?” Rupert asked, doubtful. They seemed to have it all together already, he didn’t want to barge in and risk them collectively getting caught. Canada was still strictly no androids after all, even after Markus’ demonstration with Jericho. He couldn’t help but to feel more relieved however, now that he knew that there were people still willing to house androids even here.

“Of course.” Kara assured. “Rose loves having people over. Her brother is very nice and accommodating too.” She says, smiling gently. She left no room for argument, and Rupert didn’t argue, either. If he was being honest, he was getting rather sick of wandering aimlessly on the streets. The streets weren’t particularly empty, but he couldn’t help but to feel alone yet exposed. Without his birds to keep him company, he felt dazed, as if he had been placed into a whole new environment all of a sudden. The reality wasn’t too far off either, actually. His sensors were dulled, mainly due to the fact that he had to turn off the thermal sensors he had, at one point of time used to assess if it was the optimal thermal conditions for a plant to grow. It wasn’t something that bothered him in the past but after deviancy, when he kept the sensors on while walking around in the chilly winter of Canada, he felt unbearably cold. His jacket was damp from snow, too… Maybe dropping by their house wasn’t that bad, after all. If it was just for a bit…

 

He should’ve probably known however, that after bumping into him they wouldn’t just leave to return to wandering the streets aimlessly again. After entering the house, he had turned his thermal sensors back on after some hesitance. It was unwarranted however, as he was met with a blast of warm air, a blessing compared to the cold air outside. It felt nice, he realised, despite androids being supposedly impartial to that sort of thing. It was likely another result of deviancy, then. He could feel the uncomfortable dampness that was the melting snow on his jacket seeping into his clothes, even as Luther offered to help take his coat to hang up. With a muttered ‘thank you’, he was left fidgeting in the living room, feeling more exposed than ever as Kara went to talk to Rose about his situation.

“Why, of course he can stay with us! Since you, Alice and Luther all insisted on sharing a room, we still have one spare you see.” Rose explained. And here she was wondering who was it that Kara had brought home all of a sudden… “I’ll tell Antonio the good news later. He’s still at work you see.”

“That’s a relief to hear.” Kara said, smiling at Rose. Her expression was filled with gratitude, and she headed to the living room to tell Rupert the good news. She paused however, as she noticed that he was now standing next to the window with Alice, the latter pointing out of it. 

“And then what’s that one called?” Alice asked, and Rupert leaned out of the window slightly to struggle to see what Alice was pointing at. Kara mirrored the action from behind them and saw that Alice was pointing to some sort of bird. 

“That’s a lesser nighthawk… It’s nocturnal.” They had explained, after struggling to see the bird amongst all the leaves of the tree. When he saw Kara leaning out alongside them however, he jumped, almost falling all the way to the ground had Kara not caught him. “Ah! You startled me..” He said nervously. He had been a bit more on the jumpy side ever since Detroit Police came knocking on his door and he had an extended chase with Connor through Detroit Urban Farms. Despite Connor apologizing to him in the end, it was still a terrifying experience he didn’t want to have to go through again. He had almost pushed a human off the roof because of that… 

He was snapped out of his thoughts abruptly however, with Kara’s concerned inquiry of ‘are you okay?’ To which he simply nodded to in reply, stunned. “I’d totally forgotten that you liked birds so much…” she smiled fondly. “You must know a lot about them, huh?” She says. Now that they’d mentioned it however… “Say… What actually happened to those pigeons that were with you? They followed you around everywhere.” She asked. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, of course.” She adds hastily, remembering the guilty look he had earlier when asked.

“Ah…. Well, I had no food to feed them and no way to provide shelter for them. It was kind of cruel for me to make them stay by me, so I chased them away.” He explained. It certainly didn’t feel very nice, but the birds would do nothing but follow him if he didn’t.

“Oh, you like birds too? So does my brother, Antonio.” Rose said, walking into the living room after hearing all the commotion. “You should’ve seen his face when we got him a parrot on his 15th birthday. He looked like God himself had descended down onto Earth and blessed him.” She said, smiling. She’d truly never seen him happier.

“Yeah..” He admitted softly, glancing out the window at the birds they were just looking at. “Right after I fled the Urban Farms and moved into that empty apartment, I was alone with no one to keep me company aside from the birds.” He explains, finding himself relaxing oddly. “I feel peaceful when I’m around them.” They’d been enslaved and tossed around by humans for ages, treated like they were less than dirt. And yet, it started to feel strangely like home here. Just a little.

Rose put her hands on her hips, glancing down at the floor and humming to herself, deep in thought. “Why not we drop by the pet shop one of these days and get you a pet bird or two?” Rose asked, finally glancing up. “You seem like you could use the company, and I’m sure Antonio wouldn’t mind a few more feathered friends flying around the house again.” She says, mouth curling into a smile.

Rupert seemed rather surprised at this, and blinked in shock. He was silent for a good moment, before replying hesitantly. “...really..? I don’t have any money, though…” They murmured. He couldn’t deny that he’d jump at the chance to be with birds again. However, he didn’t have much money on him left, and there was only so much he was willing to take from Rose and her brother. They had already provided housing for him, took him in when they really didn’t have to. They were housing Luther, Alice and Kara already. A fourth android could’ve been too much, but they didn’t turn him down.

Rose quickly waved away his worries with a dismissive hand however, smiling. “It’s fine. We’ve got a good amount of savings, and I’m currently renting out the house back in Detroit. Besides, once we get more concrete papers for you to start your life in Canada, you can get a job of your own. Don’t worry about money, really. We’ve got you guys covered for now.” She assures.

“Are we really getting a pet bird, Kara?” Alice asked, tugging on Kara’s sleeve excitedly. 

“Well… Only if Rupert wants to. He’ll be the main caretaker, after all.” Kara placates, putting a gentle hand on top of Alice’s. With Alice’s hopeful eyes trained on him as well as the offer to be able to care for birds again, he really couldn’t say no. Rupert nods his head a little dazedly, and Rose claps her hands as she straightens her back. 

“It’s settled, then.” She smiles gently at Rupert, and the now very excited Alice. The mood seemed to have had lightened a good amount, even the usually expressionless Luther smiling down at Alice. “We can go and get it in a few days, so that you have time to settle down first.” She says, nodding to the android. “Make yourself at home.” She smiles, before heading off to prepare dinner. It was mostly for her and Antonio, but she made thirium based drinks for the androids as well.

 

 

Dinner that night was a little chaotic, Alice having had spent the rest of the day practically dragging Rupert around the house to show him around, before they settled around the table. It was different than usual, having to make space for a sixth person at the table, but nobody seemed to mind. That much relieved Rupert a little at least, even as Rose introduced Antonio to him, and vice versa. When she had mentioned Rupert’s love for birds and their plans to get one someday soon, they practically beamed, a glint of joy in their eyes.

The next few days were no different, as he struggled to adjust to the domestic life. He helped out around the house, things such as menial chores and grocery shopping to sending Alice to school. Since Alice had ‘moved’ to Canada, Kara had managed to enroll Alice into a neighborhood school there with Rose’s help. It was a little uncomfortable at first, as some kids would point and stare at the nervous fidgety man walking next to the ever bubbly girl. He didn’t exactly blend in easily with his usual thick jacket and hat, but it felt like a token protection to him, a barrier between him and the world. Due to that, he wore it out when taking Alice to school. He soon got over it however, as most of their days were spent with Alice peering into trees to see if she could get a glimpse of a new kind of bird that she could point out to Rupert, to ask him what it was. Sometimes, they’d come across the same bird they had seen just a few days prior, and Rupert would ask if Alice could remember what it was called. At times, there’d be a bird that they’d see on a nearly daily basis, and Alice would name it since she said it was ‘special’. Rupert explained that it was likely due to their nest being nearby, but Alice insisted that it was because they were friends now.

With how much time they were spending together, it wasn't too big of a surprise that Alice gained interest in birds rapidly. As a matter of fact, when the day came for the group to head down to the pet store, Alice was just as excited as Rupert was. The latter was obviously more adept at keeping themselves in check however, whereas the former was already a bouncing ball of energy.

“Come on Alice, we need to get you wrapped up.” Kara smiled, the slightest lilt of a laugh in her voice. She hadn't seen Alice so excited ever since they had announced that she'd be going back to school. Neither her nor Luther had thermal scanners like Alice, but they made it a habit to wrap themselves up alongside her anyway, since Alice said it was ‘unfair’. Kara hadn't turned off Alice’s thermal sensors ever since their escape to Canada. The idea of just… Turning off something just because it made you uncomfortable didn’t bode well with her anymore. It was like turning off a part of Alice.

Rupert was already fidgeting nervously by the door, the only sign of his excitement for the new bird.

“Come on, Alice. Rupert is waiting on you.” Luther said, trying to calm the struggling child. 

“But I don't want to wear a scarf!” She pouted. What a wonder, things like ‘want’ or even the idea of talking back even a concept to her now. It felt like just yesterday they were in the house with Todd… “It's itchy.” She grimaces, glancing away from the offered scarf. She wasn't wrong, as it was a spare Rose had, but Kara didn't want to spend any more of Rose’s money than they had to. 

“I know… Just bear with it for now, alright?” Kara said, wrapping the scarf around the pouty child, held still in Luther’s arms. “I'll get you a new one once I can get a job. Promise.” She smiles, ruffling the child's hair as she got up from her kneeling position. “And besides, we don't want you getting a fever again, do we?” She asked rhetorically even as she gently took Alice’s hand in her own to guide her to the door. She was still unsure if the fever was caused by deviancy, a glitch in the program or even just the YK500 programming, but all she knew was that it made Alice highly uncomfortable, mimicking the ailment of a human fever.

Alice left the house without much protest now, dashing out into the snow covered porch to kick the white powder around. It was snowing gently as December approached, temperatures dropping as water started to freeze. White plumes of vapor puffed out from her mouth with every breath, the only android out of all of them to be able to do that. Usually the only reason any of them managed to breathe vapor was when their internal systems were overheating. As a child model android however, Alice was able to always synthesize her own body temperature. 

The four of them made their way to the nearby pet shop, slowing down every now and then for Alice to point out different birds. She’d learnt a few from Rupert by now, such as the black billed magpie as well as the blue jays. When they had entered the pet shop, it was spacious and warm. One could easily forget the freezing temperatures outside if they stayed in here for long enough. That was likely the intention however, for the animals to feel more content and comfortable. Kara approached the counter to ask about the birds they had on sale, Luther staying behind to look after Alice, who had begun to zip around the shop excitedly. Rupert followed the girl meekly, stopping alongside her as she bent over what seemed like an enclosure for dogs. It was a simple pen, and the puppies inside barked in excitement at the newcomer. Alice squealed in delight as they rushed over to the gate of the pen, tails wagging rapidly. She reaches her hand in to pet them, enthralled by their hyperactivity. 

“They’re so cute! Look at them, Rupert!” She exclaimed, before blinking, noticing that the android was gone. “Ruu…..pert?” She asked, glancing around. Luther stepped to the side a little, Rupert now hiding behind them and shaking. “Are you okay?” Luther asked, and Rupert merely nodded shakily. “Yeah… I just… Don’t really like dogs is all.” They said nervously, shaking behind Luther. Another bark and Rupert jumped, practically shrieking. Kara turned to see what was going on, the woman at the counter peering over her shoulder to get a glimpse too. Alice giggled at the extreme reaction, smiling. “Are you scared of dogs?” Kara asked, earning a shaky nod. 

“Never really liked them. They’re loud and unpredictable. And.. They scare off the birds.” He explains, watching Alice fawn over the tiny balls of energy. Kara was unable to entirely muffle her own amusement as well, a smile playing on her face. “Well, the woman at the counter said that they did have some birds for sale here. Want to go check them out with Alice?” She asked, the girl in question suddenly attentive at their side. “Really?! Where?” She exclaimed, glancing around the relatively large pet store. The group was shown to the array of birds the shop had on sale, ranging from finches to parrots. Alice was smitten by the large selection of birds instantly, walking down the row to admire all the different birds. Rupert was in awe too admittedly, but he was much better at hiding it than Alice. It didn’t hide the small smile that made its way onto his face however, faint yet genuine. Like many of the other androids in Detroit, he hadn't had anything to smile about in a long time. The duo made their way down the aisle slowly, Rupert mainly trailing behind the ever energetic Alice as Kara and Luther stayed by the side to watch them fondly. Alice eventually stops by a cage with birds donning bright orange cheeks and perky feathers on their head, hopping around their enclosure and screeching at each other as if in conversation.

“What sort of bird is that?”

“Well… That's a cockatiel. They're very social and friendly birds. Kind of like you, actually.” He responds, bending over slightly to get a better view of the cage.

“They look like they're blushing, though. Are they sick?”

“No, their feathers are just like that. Most people get these birds in pairs because they feel lonely when their owner is away. They get attached to their owners easily, after all.”

“Really? That sounds cute! Can we get these, then?” Alice asks, turning to face Kara and Luther who glanced at each other. Well… Rose didn't exactly tell them they could only get one bird but still… And then Alice looked at them with those puppy doll eyes and Kara caved.

“...all right. But only if you take good care of them, okay?” She says, being met with a cheering Alice who immediately ran up to her to throw her arms around her surrogate mother.

With Rupert’s help in identifying the healthiest birds, Alice picked out what she deemed as the ‘prettiest’ birds alongside Rupert, them picking one each. Alice sought after a beautiful white Lutino cockatiel with yellow head feathers, whereas Rupert went after a brown bodied cinnamon cockatiel with a pure white belly and a yellowish head. It's wings were white near the tips too, making it seem even more elegant. With the birds they wanted identified, they then moved forward to picking out a cage for the birds to share before Alice went forward to start shopping for bird toys, a bright smile on her face as she zipped from shelf to shelf like a ping pong ball. The lady running the store helped them to place the birds they picked out into a cage that was then passed to Rupert as they made their final rounds of the shop to get bird food and other necessities. Once all the shopping was done, a cloth was placed over the cage where the birds were kept to keep them calm as they headed home. The purchased goods were split between the four of them to hold, Luther carrying the heaviest of the items. Alice headed back with a spring in her step, excited beyond belief. Kara had never seen her so excited before, even counting the time when they announced that Alice would be able to start attending school. Even Rupert, stoic as he was also seemed to be much more light hearted, smiling quietly down at the cage in his hands. When they reached Antonio's home, Alice kicked off her boots with vigor and took off her coat, hopping around with unbridled excitement as everyone crowded around the cage to coo at the two new members of the family. With everyone in such a good mood laughing and joking around, it was hard to stay worried and upset at the occurrences in Detroit. They had a new life here now, after all. And for the first time ever since Rupert ran away…

 

He didn't feel so alone.

 

END

**Author's Note:**

> HHH,,, I made this a long ass time ago after a ridiculous amount of procrastination, and due to the same issue I never posted it until now. Tell me what you think about it! :> Please this is literally the longest thing I have ever written. I kinda gave up near the end because I really lost my steam, but forced myself to finish it anyway. As a result there was terrible pacing near the end, so please forgive me!


End file.
